Gilardino ‘confident positive Pisa results will come soon’ after 3-2 defeat to Napoli

NAPLES, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 22: Alberto Gilardino Pisa SC heaad coach greets Antonio Conte SSC Napoli head coach before the Serie A match between SSC Napoli and Pisa SC at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on September 22, 2025 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)

Alberto Gilardino is ‘confident the positive results will come soon’ after Pisa pushed Napoli to the limit in a 3-2 defeat.

The newly promoted side are still looking for their first win of the season, but although it was a third consecutive defeat, these were all extremely narrow.

They lost 1-0 to Roma and Udinese following the opening 1-1 draw against Atalanta, then fought to the end in this tense 3-2 loss to Napoli at the Stadio Maradona.

Gilardino proud of Pisa performance

“I am proud of the lads for their attitude and the performance this evening,” Gilardino told Sky Sport Italia.

“Our desire was to come here to Naples and play with this approach. They fulfilled my instructions to the best of their abilities, we created some great scoring opportunities, and not everyone can do that against Napoli.

“We also did well defensively, but of course there are areas where we need to improve too. There is regret that we didn’t get a result, but this performance boosts our confidence as we aim to improve on a daily basis.”

Gilardino was furious in the first half when a penalty was revoked due to a Mehdi Leris handling offence, then Billy Gilmour put the hosts in front.

M’Bala Nzola converted a different spot-kick, only for Leonardo Spinazzola and Lorenzo Lucca to surprise Adrian Semper in goal.

Lorran set up a fiery finale after Giovanni Di Lorenzo gave the ball away, as Pisa pushed to the last moment.

“I don’t like to talk about individual incidents,” replied Gilardino when asked about some refereeing calls.

“I like to focus on my lads and the match. We’ve got to maintain this intensity in every match, and soon the positive results will arrive.”

Pisa are in the Coppa Italia against Torino on Thursday evening, then have a local derby in Serie A with rivals Fiorentina, his former club as a player.

“The Coppa Italia will allow us to use players who haven’t had as much of a chance so far, then there’s Fiorentina, but the important thing is to maintain this DNA of the team,” added Gilardino.

“I am confident the positive results will come soon if we keep playing like this.”